Fishing reel



Oct 23, 1951 'F;' 6, KING 2,572,354

FISHING REEL Filed June 29, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l IN VEN TOR.

flora C /(//V@ BY Arrows Ens Oct. 23, 195] F. c. KING 2,572,354

FISHING REEL Filed June 29, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 EIEi. 4 :EIE: 3 a2 INVENTOR. flora C /f//v6' Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,572,354 FISHING REEL Floyd 0. King, Walled Lake, Mich. Application June 29, 1949, Serial No. 102,091

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a fishing reel and more particularly to a fly casting reel of the automatic type; that is, a reel which can be wound manually or automatically by means of a spiral spring.

It is an object of this invention to provide a fishing reel which is constructed so as to be capable of being manufactured economically and which can be assembled and disassembled very readily.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fishing reel in which the line spool is automatically connected with the spring driven motor whenever the spring is released in the wound condition and automatically disconnected from the spring drive whenever a brake is applied to the spring motor so that a single brake lever may be employed to control the operation of both the spring motor and the clutch for the spool.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a self actuating clutch together with a brake member which operates directly on the drive shaft of the spring motor so that a free running spool may be provided regardless of whether the spring motor is in the wound or unwound condition.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of two braking members, one for the line spool, and one for the main drive shaft and a single lever shiftable between extreme positions to release the spool brake and then the brake on the drive shaft.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel spring motor construction for the reel.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a centrifugally operated clutch for connecting the driving shaft of the spring motor with the driven shaft on which the'line spool is mounted so that when the spring motor is released the clutch automatically connects the line spool in a driving relation with the motor.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the fishing reel of my invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the reel.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the reel.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main shaft with the brake disc and clutch assembly.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the main shaft with the braking disc and clutch assembly mounted thereon.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the clutch taken substantially along the lines 6-6 in Figure 3.

by a spring 64 which is secured at one end to the spring cover removed showing the dual braking arrangement for the spool and the main shaft of the reel.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 88 in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 9-9 in Figure 7.

As is shown in the drawings,'the reel has a. main supporting frame It] to which is connected in spaced relation an outer end plate l2 in the form of a ring member. Plate I2 is secured to frame If! by means of screws I4 and spacer sleeves l6. Frame It is shaped to provide a concavity i8 and has a central bearing hub 20 into which is press fitted a roller bearing 22 which rotatably supports an outer shaft 24. Hub 26 is keyed to shaft 24 as at 29. The outer surface of hub 26 forms a bearing for the line winding spool 28. Spool 28 fits over hub 26 with a slip fit and is yieldably maintained against a radial flange 30 at the inner end of hub 26 by means of a dished spring washer 32 which is arranged tobear against the outer wall 33 of the spool with a variable pressure by means of a nut 34 threaded over the end of shaft 24. It will be seen that by loosening and tightening nut 34 the frictional drag on the spool and thereby the degree of slip-' ping of the spool on hub 26 can be controlled to a'desired amount. Nut 34 is preferably adjusted so that the frictional drag of the spool is just below the breaking strength of the line on the spool. If a fish attempts to exert a tension on. the line greater than the strength of the line, the spool simply slips in hub 26 and permits the line to be unwound by the fish. V

The reel is adapted to be secured onto a fishing pole by means of a saddle 35 which is secured to frame In and end plate 92 as by screws 38.. Frame ll] also supports a spring assembly cover 4i]. Within cover 4! there is arranged a spring casing 42 which encloses a spiral spring 44, the inner end of which is secured to a sleeve 46 as by a rivet 48. The outer end of spring 44 is: riveted to the spring casing 42 as at 50. Sleeve 46 is rotatably supported relative to casing 42? on a main shaft 52 which forms the driving shaft for the reel. A ratchet wheel 54 is riveted or otherwise afiixed to the outer face of casing 42 at the center thereof, wheel 54 having a central aperture through which main shaft 52 extends. A pawl 56 is pivoted on cover 40 by means of a cylindrical boss 58 on the pawl which is received by a hole 60 on cover 40. Pawl 56 is biased into engagement with the teeth 62 of ratchet wheel 54 pawl with its free end acting against the peripheral wall of cover 40. As is shown in Figure 2 pawl 56 and ratchet wheel 54 are arranged to permit rotation of the spring casing 42 in a counter clockwise direction within cover 40 and prevent rotation of the casing in a clockwise direction. Spring casing 42 is arranged to be rotated manually so .asto wind spring 44 by. means of a cap 66 which'has a knurled peripheral flange 58 overlying the cylindrical portion of cover 40. Cap 69 is mounted on spring casing 42 a but on the outside of cover 49 by means of dowels 69 and screws Iii which thread into ratchet wheels; 54. A large aperture 53 in cover II).accommo-v dates the raised face 55 of wheel 54 so as to cap 66 to be secured firmly tocasing 42iexteri-g orly of cover 40.

Sleeve 46, on which the inner end of"spring" 44 is riveted, is provided at the inner end thereofcwithi. a gear: I 2 fwhich is rigidly mounted 'there on.-.. Gear I2 meshes with a smallerspur'gear14; which" isrrotatablyi supported on frame I 'I 9 v as -'-by means of a bearing plate I6 having a stud 'IE mountedthereon which receives the gear: Spur gear I4 is fixed concentricallyon alargergear: till-which meshes with. a smallv gear-82- keyedto main shaft 52. This igeartrain it will be seen servesto rotate mainv shaft 492 at; a. -.relatively high'speed. when the tensionlon spring-4451s re leased:

In order; to. hold main-shaft 52' and: conse-r, quentlybsleeve 48 fromturning; when the spring; is--wound,. as. by .rotatinga'cap 69,. there. is pro-.- vided; a novel brake-arrangement: which-includes;

a braking. disc .84 which: is keyed tothe lsmalll drivinggear 82. on the mainishaft. A;;braking: arm :89; pivotednon frame III as bytaspost 89,:

is fashioned withan arcuatetzbraking surface; 99:; which in' braking position. engages the peripheral. edge of. braking .diso 84 to :holdlthe. mainishaft. againstrroiationu Brake arm 2.891 is normally." biased into braking; engagement with disc. 84+by; means of aspringeili which is: anchored onrframe- I 9 as, at 92-and fiexed-aroundapost 89:.with'its free end-engagedovera lug 88.?at'the end-.of-: arm 85".; As is best showndn Figure '7- spring 90. tendsto rotate arm 86;:in a clockwisedirection; and thereby pivot the edge 90 -ofthe armintobraking engagement with the-peripheral edge-oi disc-'84..

As will bedescribed .laterithe reel is arranged; tohave. the, free.) running spool when J.brake; arm 88. is in; brakingiengagement withgdisc 84. 1 In order to preventl'backlash.whenastripping off: line from the free running spooll havexfoundim desirable to provide an ,additionalbrake which produces a drag on the spool. This auxiliary brake comprises a brake arm-94 whichiis pivoted by a pin 95 between a pairv of spaced ears 961" struck out from the supporting 'jrame I9.e- Pin'. 95 is formed with an extension 91 having; an adjusting knob 99 at the end-thereon; The portion of pin 99 supporting-arm-Qk is in thezformof an eccentric cam I9I. Brake arm 94:.ispi'voted; between its ends on an axis parallel -to.-the,\planeof; frame III and is provided. at one end withia. pad. member '98 projectingthrough frame-I0 which is. arranged to. bear.against-..the .inner side wall I99 of the spool whenthe brake. is.-in;. the engaged-position. Pad 98- is yieldably. urged... to, a position out of engagementwith. the spool .70 by. a .coiled. compression spring I 92 .whichiisfpositioned and acts-between frame In; and arm. 94'. J1 At itsother end brake. arm 94 is .struck upwardly; so .as to provide a camming surface. 14;; It;willi' be noted that the pressure with whiclipad' 98 t bears against the spool may be adjusted by' turning knob 99 so as to move arm 94 further from or closer to the spool.

Both brakes are arranged to be controlled by a single brake lever control arm I06 pivoted on frame In by a screw I08. Brake lever I96 is provided with a lug III! which in one position of the lever engages cam I94 to pivot pad 98 into engagement with the inner wall I99 of the spool; Cam I04 is preferably designed so that in the engaged position only a slight braking pressure sunicient to prevent backlash, is applied by pad 98-to:tlie spool. When brake lever I96 is pivoted to itsother extreme position shown in dotted linesIIII in Figure 7 lug III) engages a boss H2 onthe endwof brake :arm 86 to pivot the braking edge 99 out of engagement with the peripheral edge'of disc84. Brake arms 94 and 86 are positioned relative to each other on frame I9 so that brake lever lflt 'can be pivoted to em -intermediate position shown-indotted lines I99 in Figure 7 I wherein lug- H9 is-fr'ee ofboth brake arms. In this intermediate position of lever I 96 brake-arm 88 is biased by spring to the engageda position soas to-prevent" rotation of the main shaft 52- and= brake arm 944s biased by spring I02 to the released position-free of wall I [ID-so as t0 permit free rotation of the spool. Lever I96 is normally biased by a leaf spring H3 so as to enga'ge lug IIB with 'cam IM and thereby apply a: drag on the spool.

In'order to effect a coupling between main shaftbZ-and shaft 24 on: which the spool ismounted Ihave provided a novel clutch arrangement which I'will'now 'describa- The clutch as sem'bly'comprises a carrier member H4 which. issupported-onshaft 52' and keyed thereto as: by a pin IIEprojectingthrough the shafti Carrier H4- is provided-witha pair of axially spaced flanges- IIS- between which are pivoted a pair of dogs' I 20. 1 Dogs I29 are :pivoted on diametrically'opposed axes and areprovided at their outer" ends: with arcuate cammingshoes I22 which; when the :dogs are pivoted outwardly on carrier H4, engage with the innercylindrical surface: I 24 of drum :member I 26u-which is fixed to rthe=inner"end of shaft 24. Each dog*I-20 is.- biased Ito. an inwardly pivoted'tpositionout of engagement' withdrum' I26=1by means'of light spiral springs I 28 which. are connected? at one end to the dog and at the other end to thevhubaofrthe carrier I I4. Dogs I 29: are thus arranged tdbe pivoted outwardly :by :centrifugali force. into 1 en gagement with drum I28 so as to effect a coupling-. between main shaft 52' and the spool shaft 24. SpringsIZB: arezselected suchzthat they are only; suficient to hold dogs I29 outofengagement withdrumIZS when main shaft 52: is .at rest.-- As soonas shaft 52; begins: to. rotate .under. the influence of spring 44," the centrifugai forceon dogs I20 overcomes-thetensiontofrsprings I28 and pivots the dogs to the engaged position-r Although I have shown braking,.disc--84 and carrier. II4 formed as separate pieces keyed onishaft. 52, it will beappreciated .that thesemembers maybe if desired machined integrally with the main. shaft.

Theoper-ation of. my reelisas follows:.

When it is desiredto cast or shoot-the line Y Withspring 44 in the Wound condition, lever-J06 is .pivoted to the previously described-intermediatepositionwhere lug IIII-is free of-bothicam- I04 and lug H2. With the brake. lever in this position the. main. shaft52. is locked against rotation andspool 28isin the free running condition. If then the rod'i's whipped, as in casting, the line unreels freely from the spool. After suflicient line has been stripped in this manner, brake lever I06 is released to apply a sufficient drag on the spool through arm 94 and pad 98 to prevent backlash. The line may then be reeled in either manually by means of turning knob I30 on the spool or automatically by pulling brake lever I06 up to the position indicated by dotted lines I01 in Figure '7 in which position lug IIO engages boss II2 on brake arm 86 and pivots the brake arm in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 7 so as to move the braking edge 90 out of engagement with the peripheral edge of brake disc 84. When disc 84 is released in this manner spring 44 serves to rotate shaft 52 through the gear train previously described. As soon as shaft 52 begins to rotate dogs 20 are pivoted by means of the centrifugal force of the rotating shaft outwardly into engagement with drum I26. Since drum I26 is fixed to the inner end of shaft 24 which is in turn keyed to hub 26, it will be appreciated that spool 28, hub 26, shaft 24, drum I26, dogs I20, together with gear 82 and shaft 52 will rotate as a unit.

When in reeling in line, spring 42 becomes completely unwound, it may be rewound by simply releasing brake lever I06 and turning cap 66. Since cap 66 is fixed on casing 42, the outer end of spring 44 will revolve with cap 42 while the inner end of the spring remains stationary with sleeve 46. It will also be appreciated that spring 44 may be wound by stripping line with lever I06 shifted to the position wherein brake disc 84 is released. As soon as brake disc 84 is released dogs I20 are pivoted to the engaged position and as previously described spool 28 rotates with shaft 52. Therefore, when the line is stripped in this manner the inner end of the spring revolves with the spool while the outer end remains stationary with cap 66. If the line stripping is continued after the spring is fully wound, spring washer 32 sim ly allows the spool to slip on hub 26.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a fishing reel which can be operated either manually or automatically as desired. By connecting the line spool with the spring motor by means of a clutch and by braking 0n the drive shaft on the side of the clutch adjacent the spring motor, it will be appreciated that a free running spool is provided while the spring motor is in either the wound or unwound condition. It will also be noted that by providing a single brake lever in combination with the self-actuating clutch which connects the spool with the motor, the entire operation of the reel may be controlled by means of the single brake lever.

I claim:

1. A brake mechanism for an automatic fishing reel of the type having a spring motor, a main drive shaft connected with said motor for rotation, a line spool rotatable relative to said drive shaft, and a clutch for connecting and disconnecting said spool and said main drive shaft, comprising a pair of brake members operable one on said main drive shaft and. the other on said spool, said main shaft brake member being arranged to restrain rotation of said main shaft under the influence of said motor, said other brake member being arranged to prevent rotation of said spool when said clutch is disengaged, said first brake member being normally arranged in braking engagement with said main drive shaft, means biasing said second brake member out of braking engagement with said spool, and a brake lever shiftable into engagement with either of said brake members.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said brake lever is shiftable from a first position in engagement with the brake member for said line spool to a second position in engagement with the braking member for said main shaft and to a third position out of engagement with both of said braking members wherein said main shaft is restrained from rotating and said line spool is free to rotate.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 including means normally biasing said brake lever into engagement with the brake member for the line spool, said brake lever biasing means being suflicient to overcome the biasing means on said spool brake so as to shift said spool brake to its braking position, whereby both of said brake members are normally in the braking position.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said braking lever is shiftable to a neutral position between said brake engaging positions and free of said brake members, whereby said lever may be progressively actuated from a normal position engaged with the brake member for the spool and free of the brake member for the driving shaft to an intermediate position free of both of said brake members and then to a third position in engagement with the brake member for said shaft and free of the brake member for said spool.

FLOYD 0. KING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

